Have you ever seen a movie or tv show when the family gathers round, stricken with grief, usually in a lawyers office and they attend the Official Reading of the Will?
Well, so have I. And in Michigan, no that doesn’t happen.
I wouldn’t be opposed to a formal reading of the will, just from a theater standpoint, but it would take a major overhaul of the Michigan Probate Court estate process, and it really wouldn’t accomplish anything other than maybe notifying interested parties. Generally that’s done through the mail.
Typically a will has to pass through probate. Meaning if there is a will, it has to be submitted to the probate court in your county to be admitted. That takes a number of forms, paperwork, and most importantly, time.
Things could happen, objections happen in probate court, but realistically, the scenario I painted above never happens.
And even then, there are debts to be settled, like the funeral bill or outstanding bills to be paid. There are a lot of things that need to happen in the probate process before distribution occurs, if it occurs. (And really, the help of an expert estate planner *really* comes in handy here. You earned the legacy you can pass on to your family…seek out some help in making that happen! The uncertainty that occurs around the probate process can tear a family apart.)
But no, the traditional Reading of the Will never happens.
